A population-based mercury exposure assessment near an artisanal and small-scale gold mining site in the Peruvian Amazon.

ABSTRACT: Human exposure to mercury is a leading public health problem. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a major source of global mercury emissions. Although occupational mercury exposure to miners (via mercury vapor inhalation) is known, chronic mercury exposure to nearby residents that are not miners (via mercury-contaminated fish consumption) is poorly characterized. We conducted a population-based mercury exposure assessment in 23 communities (19 rural, 4 urban) around the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, which is bordered on the east by heavy ASGM activity. We measured total mercury in hair (N = 2083) and blood (N = 476) from March-June 2015 and performed follow-up measurements (N = 723 hair and N = 290 blood) from February-April 2016. Mercury exposure risk was highest in communities

SUBMITTER: Weinhouse C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8281380 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature